NATURAL ENGLISH EXPRESSIONS
Situational language : The expressions that are used in typical everyday situations are often idiomatic in a particular sense. With the help of a dictionary and a grammar, one could invent various possible ways of expressing a particular idea, but generally there are only one or two ways that happen to be used by English speakers, and one has to know what they are in order to speak or write naturally. Some examples :
Could you check the oil ? (More natural than Could you inspect the oil ? or Could you see how much oil there is in the engine ? )
Is it a direct flight or do I have to change ? (More natural than Does the plane go straight there or do I have to get another one ? )
Sorry I kept you waiting. (More natural than Sorry I made you wait )
Could you reserve a table for three for eight o’clock ? (More natural than Could you keep me a table for three persons for eight o’clock ? ) (Swan, 1995 : 244).
1. I’ve been meaning to tell you this (Sudah lama aku ingin mengatakan hal ini padamu)
2. I’m in the market for a new car (Aku ingin beli mobil baru).
3. I have a hunger for the news (Aku ingin mengetahui berita itu).
4. First things first (yang penting harus didahulukan)
5. Don’t give me that (slang) = I don’t buy that ! (slang) = I don’t believe it ! (saya tidak percaya itu !)
6. You have to take everything he says with a grain of salt (Kamu jangan percaya begitu saja apa yang dikatakannya)
7. Boy, I’m beat !!! (slang) = Cape deeh !!!
8. Don’t tell me he’s in trouble again (Jangan-jangan dia dalam kesulitan lagi).
9. Take time out for others, but don’t get to the point that you don’t have time for yourself. (Sediakan waktu untuk orang lain, tetapi jangan sampai kamu tidak ada waktu untuk dirimu sendiri).
10. Let him stew in his own juice (Biarkan dia menderita akibat ulahnya sendiri)
11. It was a long shot ! (Usaha itu kecil kemungkinannya berhasil).
12. Fat chance ! (Gagasan itu kecil kemungkinannya berhasil)
13. You have what it takes to be a leader (Kamu punya apa yang dibutuhkan untuk menjadi pemimpin)
14. Fish abound in this lake (terdapat banyak ikan di danau ini). Smart students abound in this school (terdapat banyak siswa pandai di sekolah ini)
15. I think otherwise (aku berpendapat sebaliknya).
16. I gave him a piece of my mind (aku katakan padanya pendapatku yg sesungguhnya / aku tegur dia).
17. Every cloud has a silver lining (sesuatu yg buruk pasti ada hikmahnya / setiap penderitaan ada akhirnya / badai pasti berlalu / habis gelap terbitlah terang ).
18. Then, this product was unheard of (saat itu, barang ini belum ada / belum dijual / diproduksi)
19. The word is mum / Mum’s the word (Saya berjanji tidak akan bercerita pada siapapun).
20. There you go !!! ( Nah, begitu dong !!!)
21. Opportunity only knocks once = (Kesempatan baik hanya datang sekali).
22. I’ve been there ! (Saya tahu persis apa yg anda sedang bicarakan / alami )
23. What are you doing here ? (Lagi bikin apa disini ?)
(I’m just) minding my own business (mau tau aja kamu !!).
24. He gets excited easily (emosinya mudah terangsang)
25. He has no sense of priority (dia tidak tahu mana yg harus didahulukan).